I agree with you. I'm donating any usable organs for transplantation, then what's left is being donated to science.
Some religions don't allow anything but burial, and some require the whole body.
As for the casket thing, I think it has to do with status. Gotta impress your family and friends (or your family has to impress their friends) on your way to the hereafter. You (or your family) wouldn't want anyone to think that the only thing you could afford was a cardboard box.
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